Leopold waved it off. "Set traps. Don't waste my last money."
Under Leopold's hushed guidance, Klaus placed three. His hands trembled less with each one.
"Stop," Leopold suddenly whispered. "Hide. Take the dagger."
Footsteps echoed from the cave mouth—heavy, impatient.
A familiar, furious voice followed.
"Leopold!" Hevert's shout cracked through the darkness. "I know you're here! Trying to play hide and seek."
Leopold straightened, eyes cold and calculating despite the blood on his sleeve.
"Just come in," he called calmly. "I don't want to run anymore. Let's end it here."
Hevert unsheathed his sword with a slow, deliberate rasp of steel. The sound lingered in the cave, swallowed by damp stone and the faint drip of water somewhere deeper within. He stepped forward, boots grinding against gravel, shoulders squared. The moment he crossed the threshold, crimson light bled from his skin.
He whispered, "Empower."
A dim red glow traced his veins, sharpening his senses, tightening his grip. The cave seemed smaller now, narrower—as if it knew who had entered.
"Why are you taking so long?" Leopold's voice drifted from the shadows ahead, calm, almost amused. "Is a Keeper afraid of an old man like me?"
Hevert snorted, lips curling. "I've known you too long, old man. You wouldn't show yourself without preparation."
Leopold chuckled softly. "The only thing I prepared for is dying with you. Nothing else."
"You think you can kill me?" Hevert scoffed, heat rising in his chest. "Dream on."
"Maybe," Leopold replied. "Who knows."
Hevert advanced until the dim light revealed Leopold fully—standing straight despite his age, sword in hand, eyes sharp. Only a few paces separated them.
"Any last words, boy?" Leopold asked.
"That should be my line."
Leopold's expression shifted, something weary slipping through. "Honestly… I still don't understand how a timid boy like you became the Warhog family's vicious dog."
Hevert's jaw tightened. "Because they saw my potential. They knew what I'd become—a Keeper. Unlike you. You never once looked at my hardship. I trained until my body broke, and you never even noticed."
"And I regret it," Leopold said quietly.
Hevert scoffed. "See? You—"
"I regret not killing you before you sided with Sebas," Leopold cut in, voice suddenly cold. "I was soft. Because of that, I lost everything."
Rage exploded through Hevert. "You old bastard—I'll kill you!"
He lunged.
The ground erupted.
Klaus's trap detonated beneath Hevert's feet, forcing him back through smoke and debris. The blast barely scratched him. Before the dust settled, Leopold rushed in, blade flashing. Hevert blocked and shoved him aside, sending the old man stumbling.
Hevert brought his sword down in a brutal arc. Leopold twisted away, rolled, and flung a stone. Hevert ignored it.
The stone struck his shoulder—
—and exploded.
Klaus, hidden in the shadows, stared in disbelief. Each trap. Each delay. Leopold had choreographed everything.
Still, the gap was insurmountable. Hevert roared and charged again. Steel rang. Leopold blocked once, twice—then his sword snapped. A kick slammed into his abdomen, sending him skidding across stone.
"This is the end," Hevert growled, advancing.
Leopold coughed blood—and smiled. "Maybe."
He kicked a stone.
Hevert stopped for a moment, waiting for explosion. Nothing happened.
He stepped forward again—
The stone beneath him exploded. He staggered.
"Now!" Leopold shouted.
Klaus leapt from the wall, dagger aimed at Hevert's neck—
A fist struck him midair.
Pain detonated. Klaus crashed into the wall, vision swimming.
His health plummeted: 20 / 300.
Bones cracked. Blood filled his mouth.
"Nice trick," Hevert said, turning back. "But this ends now."
Leopold sat against the stone, blood on his lips, smiling darkly. "Yes. It will."
A chill crawled up Hevert's spine.
Leopold's smile widened, dark and resolute.
"Behold," he said, voice echoing through the cave. "Ultimate Skill: Fatal Bond."
A circle of pale light flared beneath their feet, intricate runes burning into the stone. From its center, a thin golden thread rose and snapped taut, binding Leopold and Hevert together as if their very souls had been stitched into one. The air grew cold.
From the ground, shadowy hands began to crawl upward, clutching at their legs, their torsos—seeking their hearts.
Hevert's confidence shattered. "What—?" He struggled, muscles straining, but his body refused to obey. Panic crept into his eyes. "Move! Damn it—move!"
Leopold laughed, low and hoarse. "You can't escape our destiny now, kid. This is our retribution."
"No!" Hevert snarled. "This is unacceptable. I'm a Keeper!"
"You're nothing but a pawn," Leopold replied calmly.
With a roar, Hevert unleashed his Ultimate skill: Battle Cry.
Power surged through him, veins blazing red. Inch by inch, his fingers twitched. His foot slid forward.
Leopold's smile faltered.
Klaus noticed it—the brief hesitation, the crack in Leopold's composure. Panic surged through him, sharp and suffocating. He didn't think. He couldn't afford to.
Kill Hevert.
That single intent burned through his mind.
His subconsciousness answered instinctively.
Mindforger activated, not with clarity, but desperation. Metal condensed in his hands, shaping itself into a firearm he did not recognize yet somehow understood.
A rifle.
Along with it came a single bullet, pure metal, unadorned, heavy with purpose.
His hands moved on their own. He embedded a trap into the bullet, pouring what little control he had left into it. Load. Aim.
His arms shook.
He pulled the trigger.
BANG!!!
The explosion inside the cave was deafening. The shot struck Hevert's temple cleanly. Blood sprayed across the stone wall behind him as his body went slack—still standing, but already empty. The shadowy hands surged upward, dragging what remained of him into the dark.
A chime rang out.
"You've killed Hevert Alkantel"
"Congratulations. You have earned 53,273,229 experience."
"You level up."
Both Klaus and Leopold froze. This was the first time they saw a rifle in action.
Leopold recovered first. Gritting his teeth, he crawled forward and tore the storage ring from Hevert's finger. With a trembling hand, he tossed it to Klaus. "Take that, son," he rasped. "And run."
"But—" Klaus started.
"There's nothing you can do," Leopold cut in softly. "My fate was sealed the moment I cast that skill."
Klaus put the ring on his finger, remembering the potions. "How does it work?"
Leopold gave a weary smile. "Check your status. You'll figure it out."
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Name: Klaus de Verde
Race: Human
Age: 19
Class: Reaver
Level: 92
Party: House de Verde
Coalition: None
Description:
The adopted son of House de Verde. A wanderer bound by promise, seeking retribution for a fallen family.
Status:
Health: 80 / 12000
Mana: 1000 / 2100
Stamina: 6000 / 8000
Attributes(Free Points: 216)
Strength: 138+
Agility: 160+
Endurance: 137+
Intelligence: 158+
Dexterity: 168+
Charisma: 90+
Coins:
Gold: 0
Silver: 0
Bronze: 0
Storage: >>
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Next Page >>
Klaus tapped Storage and took out a vial. A vial slid into his trembling hand—health regeneration. Relief surged through him. He crawled toward Leopold, arm outstretched.
Before he could reach him, Leopold raised a hand.
"No, son." He shook his head slowly. "It won't work. Once my ultimate skill was activated, there was no turning back. My death is inevitable. No potion can change that."
Tears spilled down Klaus's cheeks. "But—"
"No buts," Leopold said gently. "I'm done. Just fulfill your promise to this old man. That's all I ask." His voice softened. "Drink it. I don't need it."
With shaking hands, Klaus uncorked the vial and drank. Warmth flooded his body; pain vanished, bones knitting, blood receding.
"Now," Leopold said, "you have to go."
"What about you?"
"I'll wait," Leopold replied calmly. "The battle's almost over. If you linger, you'll be caught. Just keep your promise."
Klaus stood, every step heavy. He didn't want to leave, but he couldn't stay either.
"Wait," Leopold added. Hope flared—then died. "Take off your clothes. Samantha can sense you. Strip, jump into the river. It's the only way to disappear."
Klaus nodded, a bitter smile breaking through. "Goodbye, Father."
Leopold smiled back. "Goodbye, my son."
When Klaus was gone, the warmth drained from Leopold's face. His smile sharpened, dark and calculative.
"I hope you like my last gift, Sebas," he murmured. "Soon, I'll be welcoming you from hell."
Soon, Leopold's vision started to dim as the shadow hands crawled their way to his heart, until everything was swallowed in darkness.
Leopold died smiling, knowing he didn't die in vain.